When people started getting sick from a particularly potent strain of salmonella last year, a team of experts rushed to try to trace the source of the outbreak.

An emergency warning is downgraded in northern NSW after an "unpredictable and fast-moving" grass fire had threatened homes, with embers to blowing up to 4 kilometres ahead of the fire front.

Business owners in Tenterfield say tourists will be the key to the rural town's recovery, as bushfires and drought take their toll on the local economy.

Tamworth farmer Cathy Hockings looks after orphaned calves, helping out drought-affected farmers unable to keep young stock.

Free sheds are being built for those with nothing, in a creative approach to disaster recovery that is changing lives and putting a smile back on faces of despair.

Almost bone-dry from drought and having endured four major bushfires this year, Tenterfield was due for a break. That came in spades when the town found a new water supply.

As Australians start to set up their home offices and practice social distancing, we've assembled 10 simple steps every Australian can take to keep safe amid the COVID-19 panic.

As Tasmania brings in tough new controls to limit coronavirus infections, tourism and hospitality industries are "hanging on by a thread" and operators are urging locals to support them.

If you're spending more time at home lately, Gardening Australia's Tino Carnevale suggests you get planting. Here, he gives the drop on what grows best at this time of year, inside and out.

Small businesses are struggling across Australia as the coronavirus outbreak unfolds. But there are ways you can help keep them going — and stick to social isolation guidelines.

First it was the panic buying of toilet rolls, then staples like rice, pasta and meat — now it's spread to the nursery industry as demand for edible plants and seeds heats up due to coronavirus.

Renters in Tasmania could be safe from eviction until at least September under emergency laws to shield them during the coronavirus crisis — with New South Wales tenancy advocates welcoming the development and calling on "all governments" to follow suit.

Nigel Lazenby always dreamed of owning a house with river frontage, but that turned into a nightmare when a landslip wrecked his and other homes along the Tamar River in 2016. Now, Nigel is one of a group of owners who just want "fair" compensation.

Ella Ross and Thomas Edwards were all set to buy land in southern Tasmania and build their first home until coronavirus put a hold on their plans when they were told their casual work "could not be counted".

Tasmania's economy was just picking up as coronavirus restrictions sent thousands of people out of work — but some help is out there.

All non-essential travellers who arrive in Tasmania after midnight on Sunday will be placed into a Government-operated facility, Premier Peter Gutwein announces.

Tasmania records its first coronavirus death after a woman in her 80s dies in hospital in the state's north-west, with the state's case tally rising by three to 69.

Researchers in Adelaide are working on turning mushroom waste into items like sunscreen, skincare products and coating for outdoor furniture.

Nursing homes have been locked down to protect vulnerable older people from the coronavirus but families who provide basic care, like feeding, say they need access because their loved ones may not survive without it.

If there is anything good to come out of the coronavirus pandemic, it could be that rural Australians end up better connected to essential and recreational services than ever before.

The members of Facebook group Hobart Gal Pals are now asking questions about hand cleaning and self-isolation, and Chit Chat Launceston members want to know who they can visit, as a feeling of community is staying alive during coronavirus self-isolation.

The Tasmanian man was trying to get home in a yacht when he hit rocks near Portsea on Victoria's Mornington Peninsula.

With helicopters in the air, police patrols of holiday destinations and numberplate scanning, leaders around the country warn there will be no tolerance for breaches of the strict self-isolation measures.

Many parts of Australia have worked hard to attract migrants to help boost the population and ageing workforces, but many like Rosan Bhattarai are now without a source of income because they are on temporary visas and can't get access to the JobKeeper program.

A fourth person dies of coronavirus in Tasmania on a day when 11 more cases are confirmed, bringing the state's total to 122, health authorities say.

Tasmanian companies keen to keep staff employed are adapting and shifting their business focus by making face shields, hand sanitiser and other products in high demand during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tasmania's coronavirus tally reaches 133, with the director of Public Health confirming 11 new cases have been diagnosed in the state's north-west today.

With the global death toll now at more than 100,000, there is an urgent need for a coronavirus vaccine. But will pharmaceutical companies be tempted to put profits before patients?

Social-distancing measures mean we haven't been able to celebrate Easter like we normally would, and many of us are feeling lonelier than ever. The good news is, there are things you can do to stay connected.

An animal cruelty case against Tasmanian shipping identity Les Dick, who has cancer, is adjourned after he agrees not to be involved in livestock transport for five years.

A man who was a patient at a hospital at the centre of a coronavirus outbreak dies after contracting COVID-19, becoming the second death in two days as RAAF and ADF personnel begin work in the disease-hit region.

A Tasmanian man in need of urgent cancer treatment says he has been refused surgery because his local hospital is in the midst of a coronavirus outbreak.

AgQuip will not run in August, as it has done since 1973, due to the coronavirus pandemic, with organisers flagging November for the event which usually attracts about 100,000 people to north-west NSW.

The COVID-19 pandemic has made life on the streets more difficult than ever and despite government promises to help, Lionel says he has been "hearing that for a long time and nothing happens".

Hotel Bruny owner Dave Gunton is helping to feed the island's residents during the coronavirus crisis, as many welcome a return to quieter times of growing vegetables and producing salt from seawater.

Tasmania records its 10th coronavirus death and its ninth in the hotspot north-west region, with another health worker case announced late Saturday.

Key dates in the outbreak which unfolded in two Tasmanian hospitals, according to a report released by Public Health.

Tasmanian senator Jacqui Lambie says it won't "go down well" for the Coalition if she has to beg for the release of the year-old report into whether Tasmanian war hero Teddy Sheean deserves a Victoria Cross.

People working from home during COVID-19 restrictions have ditched the slacks for the humble track pants.

Taking mum out for lunch this weekend is not an option, but thanks to innovative producers it has never been easier to get a gift delivered to her door.

A man suffers head injuries when he is hit by a car that mounted a tram stop outside the Royal Adelaide Hospital, narrowly avoiding other bystanders.